Empathy Defined

What is Empathy?

The origin of the word empathy dates back to the 1880s, when German psychologist Theodore Lipps coined the term "einfuhlung" (literally, "in-feeling") to describe the emotional appreciation of another's feelings. Empathy has further been described as the process of understanding a person's subjective experience by vicariously sharing that experience while maintaining an observant stance. Empathy is a balanced curiosity leading to a deeper understanding of another human being; stated another way, empathy is the capacity to understand another person's experience from within that person's frame of reference.

Even more simply stated, empathy is the ability to "put oneself in another's shoes." In an essay entitled "Some Thoughts on Empathy," Columbia University psychiatrist Alberta Szalita stated, "I view empathy as one of the important mechanisms through which we bridge the gap between experience and thought." A few sentences earlier in her essay, she had emphasized that ... "Empathy is consideration of another person's feelings and readiness to respond to his [or her] needs without making his [or her] burden one's own."


Statements that facilitate empathy have been categorized as queries, clarifications, and responses. Examples of each are as follows:

* Queries
"Can you tell me more about that?"
"What has this been like for you?"
"How has all of this made you feel?"

* Clarifications
"Let me see if I've gotten this right ..."
"Tell me more about ..."
"I want to make sure I understand what you've said ..."

* Responses
"Sounds like you are ..."
"I imagine that must be ..."
"I can understand that must make you feel ..."


Examples of empathic statements
from the National Mental Health Information Center

* “How difficult!” or “How painful!” or “How irritating” or “How wonderful!”
* “What a disappointment to lose that job after working so hard to get it.”
* “What a mess! How confusing to expect to do one job and to come in and be assigned a different task!”
* “Lord knows you’ve put up with a lot!”


Helping consumers [BP} in their effort to take personal responsibility for life choices

You can help consumers [BP] in their effort to take personal responsibility for life choices by:

1. ... Use of open-ended questions
2. Respecting expressed preferences
3. Avoiding giving excessive advice

Using open-ended questions Open-ended questions

Open-ended questions refer to questions that cannot be answered with a “yes” or a “no.” When interviewing consumers, asking open-ended questions often yields much more useful information than asking closed-ended questions that can be answered yes/no. Open-ended questions are very useful for learning more about consumers, including their job preferences, work history, perceived difficulties on the job, and desire for support.

Examples of open-ended questions

* “I’d like to hear about the kinds of jobs you’ve worked in the past.”
* “What sort of things do you enjoy doing?”
* “When you think of the kinds of work you’d like to do, what types of work do you find most interesting and would most prefer?”
* “What types of problems have you been encountering on your job?”

Examples of avoiding giving excessive advice

Examples of ways to keep focused when asked to give advice

* “I agree that that is a tough decision you are facing. I am not sure what I would do it I were you. What are you considering?”

* “Sounds like a very difficult situation. I’d hate to make it worse by offering you advise that might not be consistent with what you really want. Let’s put our heads together and try to sort it out.”

* “ How confusing! Let’s list out the pros and cons of this decision to get a clearer idea of what you want to do.”